Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov and Vice President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas discussed further steps to strengthen trade and economic relations between Kazakhstan and the European Union, El.kz reports with reference to the press service of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan attaches particular importance to strengthening mutually beneficial relations with the European Union. Today, the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, as well as the new EU Strategy for Central Asia, play a significant role in this.
"We support the mutual commitment to further progressive development of Kazakh-European cooperation in the spirit of trust and respect," Alikhan Smailov said.
The EU is one of the largest trade and investment partners of Kazakhstan. It accounts for about 30% of foreign trade and about 40% of attracted investments. Thus, the trade turnover for 11 months of last year increased by almost 5% and reached about $38 billion.
"Today, almost 6,000 joint ventures operate in Kazakhstan, 130 of which have joined in the last year alone. These indicators underline the attractiveness of our economy for European partners. We call on the European investment community to expand its participation in joint projects," Alikhan Smailov emphasized.
For his part, the Vice-President of the European Commission noted that Kazakhstan is an important partner for the European Union.
"We know that you are undergoing major modernization processes. On behalf of the European Union, I would like to note the importance of the reforms initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, which make Kazakhstan a very significant player in the Central Asian region," Margaritis Schinas said.